Children learn sweet art of making gingerbread houses

Thursday

Dec 20, 2012 at 5:30 AM

MARK ESTESCORRESPONDENT

ORMOND BEACH - Take 24 children and set them to creating with graham crackers and candy and you get two hours of sometimes frantic fun during the annual children's Gingerbread House Making class at the Ormond Memorial Art Museum. Last Saturday's class was no exception. "That class is always be a little bit sugary," Museum Director Susan Richmond said. "They eat as much candy as they decorate with so it will be a little hyperactive in there. But the kids have a ball." That ingredient shrinkage was calculated when amassing the component candy parts, which Kings says they buy from dollar stores to get a wide variety of interesting colors and candies. Barbara Saunders and Linda King have been teaching the class for at least 10 years. "We teach art camps here and other children's classes," King said. "One year around Christmas we said 'let's start a gingerbread house class.' It really took on popularity and we've done it ever since." Technically it's not true gingerbread. The teachers start every house with a rectangle made from four graham crackers. The glue is an icing made with eggs, powder sugar and cream of tartar, although King admits it doesn't taste very good. Saunders made a demonstration house to give the children an idea of what a finished house could look like, but the children are the creative geniuses and their finished projects reflect each individual's unique style. Collin Alexander, 9, is a veteran gingerbread house builder having participated in the class two years ago. He admits to making a house like the model that time, but this year he changed his design into a two-story house with a decorated tree in the yard and an igloo to the side. "The (pine cone) tree was in the demonstration, but I designed the tree decorations with the star at the top," Collin said. "I came up with the igloo and there's a fire in there if you look inside." Collin said he put his first house on the counter and ate pieces of it. "I'll probably eat this one, too," he said. For Collin, this was more than a class. "This is like a Christmas party with all my friends," he said. "All of them are here, except for two." With about 45 minutes left in the class King suggested that everyone take a break, walk around, and see what other kids did. "It's OK to take ideas from each other. It's what all the great masters do," she told them. Saunders summed up the day's efforts. "These are the most extravagant and imaginative houses I ever seen in all the years that we've done this," she said.